や
A particle that links nouns to give a partial, non-exhaustive list: 'A and B (among other things)'. It implies that other similar items exist besides those named.
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Neutral in register and used in both speech and writing to name a few typical examples, such as objects in a place or activities someone does. It is often paired with など to stress that the list is incomplete. Compared with と, which lists items exhaustively, や signals that the speaker is picking only some examples.
Do not use や to link verbs or adjectives; for listing actions, use 〜たり〜たりする instead.
Learners sometimes use や for a complete list; when the items named are all there is, use と instead.
Note that や normally goes between items, with the case particle after the last noun; set phrases like あれやこれや are exceptions.
- 〜や〜などN5「〜や〜など」 simply adds 「など」 after a 「や」 list, with the same meaning; the two are generally interchangeable. Adding 「など」 makes it clearer that other items exist; case particles attach after 「など」, as in 「などが」, and 「などの」 is used to modify a noun.
- とN5「と」 resembles 「や」 only when connecting nouns in a list: 「と」 lists every item exhaustively, while 「や」 gives just a few representatives and implies there are more. 「と」 also has other uses such as 'together with...' and 'as soon as...', which 「や」 does not have.
- とかN5「とか」 also expresses partial listing, but with a strong colloquial, casual tone; besides nouns it can attach to the plain forms of verbs and adjectives, and it also has a hearsay use meaning 'I heard that...'. 「や」 is neutral in tone and attaches only to nouns.
- といったN2「といった」 follows examples and must be followed by a superordinate noun that summarizes them, as in 「AやBといったC」; it can also quote specific statements such as opinions or voices. 「や」 merely coordinates nouns. The two are not directly interchangeable and are often used together.
- だの〜だのN2「だの〜だの」 carries a clear tone of dissatisfaction or annoyance, is used in speech, often lists other people's complaints or excuses, and frequently precedes 「と言う」; it can also attach to verbs and adjectives. 「や」 is neutral in tone and attaches only to nouns, so when praising or objectively introducing things, 「だの〜だの」 cannot be substituted in.
- 〜たり〜たりするN3Both are example-style listings. 「や」 connects only nouns, while 「〜たり〜たりする」 lists actions or states, takes 「する」 at the end of the sentence, and can also express alternating repetition. For example, 「掃除や洗濯をする」 ≈ 「掃除したり洗濯したりする」.
と lists every item exhaustively, while や gives only examples, and 〜や〜など adds an explicit 'etc.'; とか is a more casual, spoken counterpart that can also follow verbs. といった lists examples before a category noun in a more formal style, だの〜だの lists things with a complaining tone, and 〜たり〜たりする lists representative actions using verbs rather than nouns.
